Lavrov critical of Western coalition's mission in Afghanistan

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan has failed to deal with terrorism and the drug threat, which still endanger Central Asia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan has failed to deal with terrorism and the drug threat, which still endanger Central Asia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"The presence of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has had unfavorable outcomes although the operation was sanctioned by the UN Security Council after Al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001," Lavrov said in a lecture delivered in the United Russia party's Civil University Project on Monday.

A result of the coalition's methods is that Afghanistan "remains a source of proliferation of serious threats, including the terrorist threat, which has not disappeared, and the drug threat, which has grown significantly over the years of the coalition force's presence in Afghanistan and has had an extremely negative effect on the terrorist and drug threats to our neighbors, among them Central Asia," the minister said.